'Melancholia'

Magnolia Pictures

There were expansive and provocative treatises on the meaning of life and the world as we know it, close to out-of-body experiences for audiences watching, with Lars von Trier's "Melancholia," starring Kirsten Dunst (shown), narrowly edging Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life."

There were expansive and provocative treatises on the meaning of life and the world as we know it, close to out-of-body experiences for audiences watching, with Lars von Trier's "Melancholia," starring Kirsten Dunst (shown), narrowly edging Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life." (Magnolia Pictures)

There were expansive and provocative treatises on the meaning of life and the world as we know it, close to out-of-body experiences for audiences watching, with Lars von Trier's "Melancholia," starring Kirsten Dunst (shown), narrowly edging Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life."